Madi Van Reenen, Loneliness
For my anthropology class this week we were assigned to do a video analysis on "glam metal" bands and the "groupies" that followed them. Basically I was supposed to define the opposing gender roles and describe the culture surrounding the genre.
In doing this, I had to watch a few documentaries and one of them included an interview with Elvis' famous groupie, Tura Satana. She described their love story in detail about how she went on the road with him and they were together for so long. She even took credit for teaching him the famous shimmy dance move that he's known for. She concluded the interview by explaining how he asked her to marry him and she declined because she didn't want the Elvis Presley's reputation tarnished by marrying a Japanese exotic dancer half his age. She said that Elvis was one of the most lonely people she ever met and it brought me back to our discussion in class.
Loneliness is more than simply being the only person in a given area. It's a darkness in your heart that comes from not making connections to people. Satana said that Elvis was lonely, but he was hardly ever alone. Any lonely person knows that it can strike you even when you're in a crowded space.
As humans, our lives are dependent on making connections. We're social beings and would die if living in isolation, even though it sounds like a great idea sometimes (i.e. Chris from Into the Wild). Satana went on to describe a conversation between her and Elvis where she asked him if he ever felt "it" and he said yes, with her. It broke my heart to hear about these star crossed lovers both sacrificing for each others' happiness and inevitably contributing to each others' loneliness.
In doing this, I had to watch a few documentaries and one of them included an interview with Elvis' famous groupie, Tura Satana. She described their love story in detail about how she went on the road with him and they were together for so long. She even took credit for teaching him the famous shimmy dance move that he's known for. She concluded the interview by explaining how he asked her to marry him and she declined because she didn't want the Elvis Presley's reputation tarnished by marrying a Japanese exotic dancer half his age. She said that Elvis was one of the most lonely people she ever met and it brought me back to our discussion in class.
Loneliness is more than simply being the only person in a given area. It's a darkness in your heart that comes from not making connections to people. Satana said that Elvis was lonely, but he was hardly ever alone. Any lonely person knows that it can strike you even when you're in a crowded space.
As humans, our lives are dependent on making connections. We're social beings and would die if living in isolation, even though it sounds like a great idea sometimes (i.e. Chris from Into the Wild). Satana went on to describe a conversation between her and Elvis where she asked him if he ever felt "it" and he said yes, with her. It broke my heart to hear about these star crossed lovers both sacrificing for each others' happiness and inevitably contributing to each others' loneliness.
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